On Libraries
By Oliver Sacks
Summary:
Oliver Sacks grew up in an oak-panelled
library inherited from his father, a Hebrew Scholar and a fan of Norwegian
playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906). The library was stacked high with Henrik
Ibsen’s plays, poems from his father’s generation, and adventure and history
books from his brothers. He read Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, written by
an English short-story writer. He enjoyed the adventures of Mowgli, the book’s
fictional character.
His mother was likewise a
literature enthusiast. She had collected a library of literature books by Emily
Dickens (an American poet), Anthony Trollope (an English writer), George
Bernard Shaw (an Irish playwright), Rudyard Kipling, William Shakespeare (an
English dramatist), John Milton (an English poet), and poetry books as school
awards. In a particular cabinet in his parents’ surgery, there were also
medical books. Along with the most magnificent library, he had a small lab
where he could immerse himself in books for hours on end, even forgetting to
eat his lunch or dinner. Since he was three or four years old, the library and
books were his first memories.
Willesden Public Library in
Willesden Green, London, was where he spent the happiest hours of his adult
life. He obtained his formal schooling there. He disliked passive reading in
formal schools because he was an active reader and self-learner. He was a good
student in libraries and enjoyed reading whatever book he wanted in the company
of other readers. When he got older, he began studying astronomy and chemistry.
Because the Walker Library at St. Paul’s School did not include chemistry books,
he was able to visit the Science Museum’s library with the help of his
schoolmaster and learn chemistry books there.
When he was at university, he
went to Radcliffe Science Library and the Bodleian Library. After reading
Theodore Hook, he decided to create a biography of him. He gathered information
from the British Museum Library and wrote about him in the Bodleian Library.
The library of Queen’s College, Oxford, was his most beloved library. He examined
ancient texts such as Gesner’s Historiae Animalium (1551), Agassiz’s volumes,
Charles Darwin, Sir Thomas Browne, and Jonathan Swift, as well as 17th and 18th-century
writings of Samuel Johnson, David Hume, Alexander Pope, and John Dryden.
In 1965, he moved to New York
City and resided in a small apartment. It was difficult for him to read and
write in the apartment, but he did write some of his book Migraine. He was
accepted into Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he found it easy to read
and write. He met with another friend who was looking for
the same old book, Volumes of Brain from 1890. He formed a good connection
based on reading and knowledge exchange.
He continued to visit libraries,
sitting at a table surrounded by mountains of books. During the 1990s, he
discovered that students were ignoring bookshelves in favour of accessing
material on their computers. Because the majority of students were not using
the books, the college decided to get rid of them. That happened in the AECOM
Library and other libraries throughout the world. The majority of the books had
been discarded. To him, this was a murder or a crime. It was the destruction of
centuries of wisdom. He was upset by the loss of books, but the important books
had been digitalized. Digital literature may neither inspire nor delight in the
same way. Some books are priceless. In the 1960s, most libraries had special
spaces for old books. The book that prompted him to start writing was Megrim
(1873) by Edward Living.
Understanding
the text
Answer the following questions.
a. Where could the author be found when he was late for
lunch or dinner?
Answer: The author could be found in a little lab
along with the oak-paneled library that belonged to his father when he was late
for lunch or dinner.
b. What are his first memories?
Answer: The beautiful oak panel library and books were
the first memory of the writer.
c. Why did he dislike school?
Answer: The author didn't like school because he had
to listen to the teachers passively obeying their instructions. The author
liked to learn himself in libraries being free to choose books of his own
choice.
d. What did he feel about at the library?
Answer: At
the library, he felt free to look out thousands of books, to roam around and to
enjoy the special atmosphere and the quiet companionship of other readers all
like him in the same quest.
e. Why was he so biased about sciences especially astronomy and chemistry?
Answer: He
was so biased about science especially astronomy and chemistry because science
was his study of interest. Any library could provide books on various subjects
and faculties, and to read all of them is not possible. We must focus our study
on a specific subject to get a wide range of knowledge on that subject so the
writer, to get specific knowledge, focused himself in astronomy and chemistry.
f. Why did he become so fascinated by Hook?
Answer: The writer became so fascinated by Theodore
Hook because he was greatly admired in the 19th century for his wit and his
genius for theatrical and musical improvisation. He was said to have composed
more than 500 operas on the spot.
g. Describe library at the Queen’s College.
Answer: The Queen's College is a constituent college
of the University of Oxford, England. It has a magnificent library building
which was designed by Christopher Wren, one of the most highly acclaimed
English architects in history. Beneath the library building, there is the vast
subterranean holding of the library.
h. Why did the students ignore the bookshelves in the 1990s?
Answer: The students ignored the bookshelves in the
1990s because they have access to computerized books.
i. Why was he horrified when he visited the library a couple of months ago?
Answer: He
was horrified when he visited the library a couple of months ago because most
of the shelves were sparsely occupied. Most of the books were had been thrown
out or digitalized.
Reference to the Context
a. The author says, “I was not a good pupil, but I was a
good listener.” Justify it with the textual evidences.
Answer: In
the essay, Oliver Sacks says, “I was not a
good pupil, but I was a good listener.” To be a good pupil, one has to be a
good relation to teachers in a school. S/he has to attend classes regularly
under the instructions provided by the teachers. S/he has to complete all the
assignments given by the teacher after the lectures. But Oliver Sacks was not
like that kind of pupil. He didn’t like to learn passively. Instead, he likes
to learn actively in libraries selecting books of his choice. He loves reading
varieties of books in the library being free.
b. A proverb says, "Nothing is pleasanter than exploring a
library." Does this proverb apply in the essay? Explain.
Answer: The beautiful quotation, “Nothing is pleasanter than exploring a library.” Walter Savage Landor talks about the happiness, any studious
person gets in a library. Any library provides enormous sources of information
on a variety of topics. Nothing gives much satisfaction as reading books gives
to a bookish fellow. Oliver Sacks is a bookworm who spends much of his time in
different libraries in different places. His book reading started from his own
library at home. All of his family members loved reading books and he was grown
up in that environment. The oak-panelled library at his own home was his favorite
room. Instead of attending formal schools, he preferred to read freely in
libraries. Especially he enjoyed the library environment and the quiet
companionship of other readers. He would love to sit at a table in libraries,
with a mountain of books in Infront of him.
c. Are there any other services that you would like to see added to the
library?
Answer: When we hear the term “Library”, an image comes to our mind that is a room filled with
several stocks of bookshelves and book lovers reading there. In the past, the
shelves were full of paper-based books. I would like to see libraries offering
an abundance of additional services which we can enjoy. I like to have access
to audiobooks, E-books, large print and braille materials, CDs, DVDs, Internet
access, community clubs, manuscripts and so on. They could provide access to
reading to different readers. Even blind people can read books in a library if
they provide braille materials. Internet users can read E-Books there.
Reference
beyond the text
a. Write an essay on Libraries and its uses for students.
Answer: A
library is a place where books and sources of information are stored. They make
it easier for people to get access to them for various purposes. Libraries are
very helpful and economical too. They include books, magazines, newspapers,
DVDs, manuscripts and more. In other words, they are an all-encompassing source
of information. A public library is open to everyone for fulfilling the need
for information. They are run by the government, schools, colleges, and
universities. The members of the society or community can visit these libraries
to enhance their knowledge and complete their research. Libraries play a vital
role in providing people with reliable content. They encourage and promote the
process of learning and grasping knowledge. The book worms can get loads of
books to read from and enhance their knowledge. Moreover, the variety is so
wide-ranging that one mostly gets what they are looking for. Furthermore, they
help the people to get their hands on great educational material which they
might not find otherwise in the market. When we read more, our social skills
and academic performance improves. Most importantly, libraries are a great
platform for making progress. When we get homework in class, the libraries help
us with the reference material. This, in turn, progresses our learning
capabilities and knowledge. It is also helpful in our overall development.
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